If you want to learn computer programming but don’t know which language to start with, this is the book for you! In just 24 lessons of one hour or less, any beginner can get a solid introduction to the basics of computer programming and learn to write simple programs for any platform—Windows, Mac, and mobile.
Using a straightforward, step-by-step approach, each lesson in this carefully crafted tutorial builds upon the previous one, allowing you to learn all the essentials of programming from the ground up.
Once you’ve mastered these fundamentals, the book introduces you to several of the most popular computer programming languages today and helps you decide which language to learn first.
- Step-by-step instructions carefully walk you through the most common programming tasks.
- Practical, hands-on examples show you how to apply what you learn to create your own programs
- Quizzes and exercises at the end of each lesson help you test your knowledge and stretch your skills
Learn how to…
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Set up your programming toolkit with widely available free downloads
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Create simple programs in JavaScript that get user input and display output
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Process numbers and words
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Use variables to hold information
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Merge strings together
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Tell programs how to make decisions
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Create algorithms to count data values and accumulate totals
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Use JavaScript to create interactive web pages
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Improve a user’s experience with cookies
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Debug your programs before going live
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Structure programs for readability
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Apply your programming skills to more advanced languages like Java
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Use object-oriented programming techniques
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Choose between other popular languages like C and C++, HTML5 and CSS3, Visual Basic and .NET, and PHP
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Distribute and sell your programs
Greg Perry is a speaker and writer in both the programming and applications sides of computing. He is known for bringing programming topics down to the beginner’s level. Perry has been a programmer and trainer for two decades. He received his first degree in computer science and then earned a Master’s degree in corporate finance. Besides writing, he consults and lectures across the country, including at the acclaimed Software Development programming conferences. Perry is the author of more than 75 other computer books. In his spare time, he gives lectures on traveling in Italy, his second-favorite place to be.
Dean Miller is a writer and editor with more than 20 years of experience in both the publishing and licensed consumer products businesses. Over the years, he has created or helped shape a number of bestselling books and series, including Sams Teach Yourself in 21 Days, Sams Teach Yourself in 24 Hours, and the Unleashed series, all from Sams Publishing. He has written books on C programming and professional wrestling, and is still looking for a way to combine the two into one strange amalgam.
Part I. Start Programming Today
1. Hands-On Programming
2. Process and Techniques
3. Designing a Program
4. Getting Input and Displaying Output
5. Data Processing with Numbers and Words
6. Controlling Your Program
7. Debugging Tools
Part II. Programming Fundamentals
8. Structured Techniques
9. Programming Algorithms
10. Having Fun
11. Advanced Programming
Part III. Object-Oriented Programming
12. What is an Object?
13. Anatomy of a Class
14. Methods and More
15. Inheritance
Part IV. Other Programming Languages
16. HTML5 and CSS3
17. Scripting with PHP
18. Programming with C and C++
19. Java Everywhere
20. Programming with Visual Basic
21. Microsoft.NET
Part V. The Business of Programming
22. How Companies Program
23. Distributing Applications
24. The Future of Programming
Appendixes
A. Glossary
B. Quiz Answers
C. ASCII Table
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